Somewhat counterintuitively, it’s the more trusting people that actually emerge as less gullible. They obviously get fooled, as we all do… but they tend to be very good at learning from those experiences where they have been duped, they tend not to generalize it over everybody and then to start being cynical about everything, which then makes them more effective socially.

For more on the art and science of beguiling, see On Deception, the fantastic anthology of Harry Houdini’s writings, recently republished with a foreword by Brown himself.

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